Nate Chinen

The vibraphonist has a "love-hate relationship" with his instrument that has been helpful in perfecting his craft — but it wouldn't mean much without the deep emotional well he pulls from.

The four recipients of America's highest jazz honor will be celebrated at a concert in San Francisco next spring.

Every December, saxophonist Joe Lovano travels home to Cleveland to throw himself a birthday concert. We hear tales of Lovano family lore, and a get a slice of his musical past and present.

For John Zorn, realizing an ambitious, 11-album project was only possible through a crowdfunding campaign — except that the company he used, PledgeMusic, went bankrupt. It may cost him a lot of money.

The jazz pianist's swing-for-the-fences opus references Old Testament prophets and collides retro-futurist synthesizers with horns and strings.

Alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin, tenor saxophonist María Grand and vocalist and flutist Melanie Charles each talk about their artistic process.

In Melbourne for its eighth iteration, the All-Star Global Concert brought together marquee names in jazz around a concert program of international, but borderless, collaboration.

The tour, which brings together two of the brightest lights in jazz, will be playing across the U.S. in July and August.

In 2016, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra faced a scandal that cast doubt on its very future. The road to recovery has been, in the words of the group's new CEO, "a tightrope walk."

The DIVA Jazz Orchestra celebrates 25 years, and one of the last surviving members of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm reflects on the legacies of all-female big bands.

The London trio, led by Shabaka Hutchings on reeds, liberates itself from received jazz wisdom, let alone any form of decorum.

Drummer/producer Makaya McCraven creates beat-driven jazz with post-production wizardry.

Bill Frisell, an elite jazz guitarist, teams up with bassist Thomas Morgan to imagine a playful riff on this 007 theme.

Composer and trumpeter Terence Blanchard reveals the creative process that led to BlacKkKlansman's "Blut und Boden (Blood and Soil)."

Trumpeter Terence Blanchard has career spanning three decades in both jazz and film scoring. We dive into his work with Spike Lee, his E-Collective band and a new commission.

The rambunctious, indefatigable tuba player and composer makes a lot of joyful noise on London's jazz scene — part heavy anchor, part combustion engine, with a will to set any groove aflame.

On March 29, 1992, Betty Carter performed The Music Never Stops at Alice Tully Hall in New York. This spring, that classic concert can be relived once again.

Organ talent Joey DeFrancesco reconnects with Christian McBride in an elaborate showdown, ultimately celebrating their deep love for jazz tradition.

Friends of the show offer memories and music of pianist Cecil Taylor, Village Vanguard owner Lorraine Gordon, South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela and trumpeter Roy Hargrove.

For NPR Music's jazz critic and the editorial director of WBGO, 2018 was a year that saw music — not just jazz — in the throes of a creative boom, rocketing in many directions.